Southern Africa sits at the centre of Africa’s evolving energy landscape, with vast reserves of critical minerals, established energy infrastructure, and significant renewable potential. The region accounts for over 60% of Africa’s electricity generation capacity, largely driven by South Africa, yet more than 500 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity. Southern Africa also holds a significant share of the world’s critical minerals, over 70% of global platinum group metals and substantial deposits of lithium and cobalt, positioning it as a key supplier in the global energy transition. At the same time, the region has some of the continent’s strongest renewable resources, with solar and wind potential estimated to exceed 1,000 GW across key markets.
Hosted in partnership with KPMG, this session will explore how governments, investors and the private sector can work together to strengthen energy security while unlocking investment across power generation, transmission, gas, and critical minerals value chains. Despite hosting around 30% of the world’s critical minerals, Africa attracts less than 3% of global clean energy investment, underscoring the scale of the financing gap. Discussions will focus on practical pathways to scale bankable projects, strengthen regional power trade through platforms such as the Southern African Power Pool, and mitigate risk in frontier environments, ultimately positioning Southern Africa as a competitive and reliable hub in both the continental and global energy transition.
In partnership with
